School report

Monkseaton High School Seatonville Road, , , NE25 9EQ

Inspection dates 9–10 October 2013

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 Overall effectiveness This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because  Achievement requires improvement. Too few  Teachers do not ask questions which students make good progress in English and encourage students to provide extended mathematics, and across a range of subjects. responses which develop their ideas and  Not enough of the most-able students are arguments. attaining the highest grades at GCSE. This is  Students are not given enough opportunities to because they are not making good progress lead and shape their own learning independent from their starting points. of the teacher.  The sixth form requires improvement because  The expert teaching in the school has not been attainment at the highest grades is below shared fully enough to ensure that teaching what it should be and that seen nationally. consistently secures good or better progress by  Teachers do not have high enough students. expectations of the rate at which students  Developments aimed at improving achievement can make progress. As a result, they do not are not always monitored and evaluated for consistently challenge them to do their very their impact. best.

The school has the following strengths

 Disabled students and those with special  Leaders and managers, including governors, educational needs, and students eligible for know where improvement is needed. They the pupil premium, make good progress have the full support of the whole-school because of the focused support they receive. community in their drive to improve the school.  Behaviour is good because relationships As a result, there have been significant between staff and students are very positive. improvements in the past year. Students feel safe.

Inspection report: Community High School, 9–10 October 2013 2 of 9

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 30 part lessons, of which six were joint observations with senior leaders. Inspectors observed senior leaders giving feedback on the quality of learning and students’ progress in lessons.  Meetings were held with students, the Chair of the Governing Body, the school’s improvement adviser, who represented the local authority, and the ex-executive headteacher.  Inspectors took account of 22 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View), the views of one parent who communicated directly with the lead inspector by letter, questionnaires carried out by the school, and 61 questionnaires completed by staff.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at documents including improvement plans, data on students’ current progress, minutes of the governing body meetings and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

Inspection team

Mick Hill, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

Clive Petts Additional Inspector

Patrick Feerick Additional Inspector

Inspection report: Monkseaton Community High School, 9–10 October 2013 3 of 9

Full report

Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized secondary school.  The proportion of students known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional funding for those students known to be eligible for free school meals, children from service families and those children who are looked after by the local authority) is above the national average.  The proportion of disabled students and those with special educational needs supported through school action is above average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  The proportion of students of minority ethnic heritage and who speak English as an additional language is below average.  A small number of students are educated off-site at the Whitley Bay Student Support Centre.  The school has a resource base for physically disabled students.  The school runs a Football Academy.  The school meets the government’s current floor standard which sets the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress.  The headteacher was appointed in September 2013, having previously been the head of school.  An executive headteacher seconded from provide support to school leaders.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve the quality of teaching so that all lessons, including in the sixth form, consistently secure good or better progress for students, including the most-able, by: having the highest expectations of the rate at which students can make progress and challenging them so they do their very best ensuring teachers ask questions which encourage students to provide extended responses in order to develop their ideas and arguments giving students more opportunities to lead and shape their own learning independent of the teacher sharing fully the teaching expertise which exists in the school monitoring and evaluating developments aimed at improving achievement to check they are having an impact.

Inspection report: Monkseaton Community High School, 9–10 October 2013 4 of 9

Inspection judgements

The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement because, while there was an improvement in results overall in 2013, too few students make good progress across a range of subjects, including English and mathematics.  In particular, not enough of the most-able students in English and mathematics attain the highest GCSE grades. In 2012, the school entered all students early for mathematics in the winter of Year 11. The school realised that this did not serve the most-able students well and has now adjusted this practice and is more selective about which students are entered early.  The sixth form requires improvement because, although there has been an overall improvement in the results in 2013, most notably at AS level, attainment at the highest grades is below that seen nationally. In previous years, students have embarked on courses for which they were unsuited by ability or aptitude. Consequently, too many underachieved or did not complete their course. Improved information and guidance has ensured that current Year 12 students are better suited to the courses they are following. The school is now more effective in ensuring equality of opportunity for sixth form students.  The achievement of students who are disabled or who have special educational needs is good. These students make good progress because of the high quality and well-focused support they receive.  Students known to be eligible for the pupil premium, including those known to be eligible for free school meals, make good progress, including in English and mathematics. The gap in attainment between these students and others narrows over their time in the school. The gap in GCSE attainment is less than the gap seen nationally, by two-thirds of a grade in English and three-quarters of a grade in mathematics. This is because the pupil premium funding has been spent wisely on extra support for this group of students.  Students, including the small number of minority ethnic heritage or who speak English as an additional language, develop their reading and writing as they move through the school because teachers in all subjects provide opportunities for them to practise and develop these skills. Students’ mathematical skills, previously a concern, are now developing at a similar rate to their reading and writing. A very small number of students are educated off-site. Staff from the school check the quality of this provision. These students make good progress because the provision matches their needs.  The school has a resource base for physically disabled students. There is currently one student on roll and a further two who access this provision. These students make expected progress as a result of the specialist care and support they receive.

The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Although the quality of teaching is improving, it is still judged to require improvement because it does not consistently secure good or better progress for students, especially the most able.  In lessons where teaching requires improvement, teachers do not have high enough expectations of the rate at which students can make progress. As a result, they do not fully challenge students to do their very best and so achieve the highest grades.  Teachers do not always ask questions which encourage students to provide extended responses. In these lessons, students are not given enough opportunity to share, discuss and construct longer answers to written or spoken questions. As a result, they are not able to develop fully their ideas and arguments.  Lessons are often too closely directed by the teacher. Students are not given enough opportunities to lead and shape their own learning and as a result, the pace of learning is the same for all.  Nevertheless, there is a strong core of typically good, and some outstanding, teaching, which is

Inspection report: , 9–10 October 2013 5 of 9

built on very positive relationships between staff and students. Inadequate teaching has been eradicated.  In these good and better lessons, teachers have high expectations of the progress students can make. In a GCSE lesson on Nazi Germany, for example, the teacher’s skilful questioning challenged students to give reasoned and well-constructed answers of a quality more usually seen in sixth form lessons. They were encouraged to do this because the teacher had provided opportunities for them to work independently in groups. They responded with enthusiasm and a desire to know more.  This good practice in challenging students to do their very best, using effective questioning and encouraging students to lead and shape their own learning with less direction by the teacher has not been shared fully enough so that all teaching secures students’ good or better progress.

The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 There has been a steady improvement in attendance over the last year as a result of concerted action by the school. Attendance is now above average when compared with that of students in the same age range nationally. The attendance of students eligible for the pupil premium is similar to that of other students.  Students’ behaviour in lessons and around the school is good. They generally display positive attitudes towards learning. The very few instances of inappropriate behaviour observed are atypical. Exclusions are rare.  Relationships between staff and students are very positive. This is a strength of the school.  Students, including those new to the school in September and those in Year 13, are confident that bullying is dealt with promptly and well. Students know about different types of bullying, including that associated with digital media, racism and homophobia.  Students say they feel safe. They enjoy the freedom of movement and informality the large open-plan building provides when not in lessons.  Students take part in a very wide range of activities, including many visits, which effectively enrich their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. As one Year 12 student put it, when describing the extra-curricular activities available, ‘you can do anything here’.  Sport plays an important part in the life of the school, and there are many opportunities for students to excel. Those who join the Football Academy are instantly recognisable by their sports strip and are excellent role models for other students. The academy, now in place for over ten years, has many notable successes, including preparing students for scholarships at universities in the United States and as professional footballers.  There is an active school council and students speak positively about the role they play in improving the school.

The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher provides the school with effective leadership. She is strongly supported by leaders and managers at all levels, including the governing body. The drive to improve the school is fully shared by staff and supported by students and their parents.  The school’s checks on how well it is doing are accurate and detailed and are well supported by the work of the local authority’s school improvement adviser and the ex-executive headteacher, who continues to provide effective support to school leaders. As a result, leaders and managers, including governors, have a clear picture of the school’s strengths and areas for development. This has brought about significant improvements over the past year, most notably in achievement in the sixth form and in the eradication of inadequate teaching.  The improvement in achievement in the sixth form, especially at AS level, is, in large part, the result of the greatly improved information and guidance given to students. Students are now much better matched by ability and aptitude to the courses they are studying.

Inspection report: Monkseaton High School, 9–10 October 2013 6 of 9

 The improvements already made, the wide support for further improvement, and the high level of staff morale all point to good capacity to take the necessary actions to become a good school.  Developments aimed at raising achievement, such as the new Aspire programme, are not always properly monitored and evaluated to check the impact on students’ achievement.  The effective leadership of teaching and learning has created a strong core of typically good teaching. This is because the quality of teaching is closely checked and poor teaching is tackled promptly and robustly. The records of the checks carried out are rightly used to link rewards for staff firmly to their success in helping students to achieve.  Staff training is focused squarely on improving the quality of teaching. However, the expert teaching in the school has not been shared fully enough to ensure that teaching consistently secures good or better progress by students, including in English and mathematics.  The curriculum has improved in the last year and is now good. It has been adjusted in Key Stage 4 to support students’ achievement in English and mathematics. In the sixth form, courses now better match the needs and aspirations of the students. Analysis of the destinations of students leaving the school indicates they are now better prepared for their next step.  The school’s safeguarding arrangements meet statutory requirements.  The governance of the school: The governing body is largely new to their role over the last year. It contains a core of very experienced governors. They are highly effective in challenging the school’s senior leaders over the performance of the school. They actively seek external expertise to help them scrutinise data about the school’s performance. Governors fully support the senior leadership’s robust approach to managing the performance of staff and do not back away from difficult decisions when these are needed. As a result, there is no inadequate teaching. The school’s finances and resources are very effectively managed. Governors keep a close watch on the way the pupil premium funding is used and to what effect.

Inspection report: Monkseaton Community High School, 9–10 October 2013 7 of 9

What inspection judgements mean

School Grade Judgement Description Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it improvement is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

Inspection report: Monkseaton Community High School, 9–10 October 2013 8 of 9

School details

Unique reference number 108642 Local authority Inspection number 425871

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

Type of school Secondary School category Maintained Age range of pupils 13–18 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 560 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 162 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Anne Welsh Headteacher Tracy Crowder Date of previous school inspection 18 October 2011 Telephone number 0191 2979700 Fax number 0191 2979701 Email address [email protected]

Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be made following the procedures set out in the guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email [email protected].

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in . You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email [email protected]. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’. Piccadilly Gate Store St Manchester M1 2WD

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: [email protected] W: www.ofsted.gov.uk © Crown copyright 2013